A staff member of the William Way LGBT Community Center says he was the target of antigay slurs when he attempted to seek assistance from an individual tasked with promoting the safety and wellbeing of Center City residents and visitors.
Eric Bunting, the center’s facilities assistant, said he was called to the Gayborhood the night of Sept. 27 to help subdue a friend who had taken crystal meth and was “out of control.”
Bunting said his friend was becoming violent, punching him and at least one passerby, and climbing onto tables at El Vez at 13th and Sansom streets.
After arriving at the scene around 9:45 p.m., Bunting called police, as did staff at El Vez and several people in the crowd who gathered to watch the incident, Bunting said.
Bunting said he waited about a half-hour for police before spotting a Center City District representative in the crowd watching the situation.
The CCD staffer, who was standing with another CCD representative, was wearing a radio, and Bunting asked him to call police on the radio, hoping to speed up the response.
“I asked him if he could radio the police and help me and he said, ‘I’m not helping no fucking faggots,’” Bunting said.
Bunting said he told the representative that it was his job to assist and, when he asked for the individual’s name, he said he covered his name badge with his hand. Bunting said he attempted to pull the man’s arm off of his tag to no avail.
“He was just screaming and hollering at me so I realized, why don’t I take a picture of him? So I pulled out my phone and went to take it and he grabbed my phone and threw it in the gutter,” Bunting said, noting that the CCD employee called him a faggot several times.
Bunting turned his attention back to his friend and said he wasn’t sure at which point the CCD representative left the scene.
Shortly after the exchange, an off-duty Philadelphia police officer approached Bunting and offered to radio police, who arrived shortly thereafter, transporting Bunting’s friend to Jefferson Hospital.
A corner of Bunting’s iPhone was cracked in the incident, he said, and he can’t turn the device off.
On Friday, Bunting filed a complaint against the CCD representative with the agency and said the individual who took his report was “appalled” at the story.
According to the CCD website, customer-service representatives are meant to be “an effective deterrent to crime and a welcoming presence in downtown Philadelphia, equally prepared to administer first aid, provide directions, radio police or provide outreach to homeless individuals.”
Tony Nazzario, director of human resources at CCD, said in a statement this week that the two CCD representatives involved were disciplined but declined to provide to what extent because of personnel policies.
“Mr. Bunting filed a report with the Center City District. We did an extensive investigation regarding his allegations,” Nazzario said. “We found the two [customer service representatives] were in violation of our policies and appropriate action was taken. Personnel matters for both current and former employees, however, are confidential.”
CCD president and CEO Paul R. Levy added that the agency “has very clear policies regarding any form of discrimination. We investigated the complaint and took strong and corrective action that will prevent such conduct from ever reoccurring.”
Bunting said he is exploring the possibility of filing a report with the Philadelphia Police Department or the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.
Deputy Commissioner Stephen Johnson, the LGBT police liaison, has been in touch with Bunting.
Bunting said the CSR’s reaction was dismaying especially considering his supposed job responsibilities.
“I’m outraged,” he said. “The district is full of gay people, and we could be anywhere in the city. We look up to these people as people who can help you but then they don’t. What else is he doing walking around collecting a paycheck if he’s not helping people?”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].
